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Yasen / Graney Class Submarine (Project 885/885M)

Yasen / Graney Class submarines are being built by Russia’s Sevmash shipyard for the Russian Navy. The submarines are being developed as part of Project 885 Yasen and are preceded by the Akula Class.

Akula class

The steel-hulled submarines of the Project 971 Schuka-B, designated by NATO as Akula class were easier and cheaper to built than the Sierras, and are essentially successors to the prolific Victor class. Today, they make up about half of Russia’s dwindling fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines.

The first seven boats (designated in the West as the Akula I class) were constructed between 1982-90, and are the Puma, Delfin, Kashalot,Bars, Kit, Pantera and Narval. Five more (theVolk, Morzh, Leopard, Tigr and Drakon built between 1986-95) are classified as the Project 971 U or Improved Akula class, while a 13th boat, the Vepr of the Project 971M or Akula II class, was launched in 1995. Three additional boats the Belgograd and Kuguar launched between 1998-2000 as Akula II boats, are also incomplete. At least two more were projected but were not built. Nepra began sea trials in 2008. This boat was leased to India since 2011 until 2020. It was commissioned with the Indian Navy in 2012 as INS Chakra.

The design was approved in the early 1970s but modified in 1978-80 to carry the Granat (SS-N-21 Sampson) land attack cruise missiles. The Akula marked a significant improvement in Soviet submarine design as it is far quieter than the Victor and earlier SSNs. Furthermore it was far quitter than Western countries expected. The use of commercially available Western technology to reduce noise levels played an important role in this eroding a long-held NATO advantage in the underwater Cold War. Sensors were also much improved, the use of digital technology enabling them to detect targets at three times the range possible in a Victor.

The Akulas sport a massive tear-drop shaped pod on the after fin: this houses the Skat-3 VLF passive towed array. There is an escape pod built into the fin. The Improved Akula and Akula II boats are fitted with six additional 533-mm external torpedo tubes: as these cannot be reloaded from within the pressure hull, it is considered likely they are fitted with the Tsakra (SS-N-15 Starfish) anti-submarine missile. Additionally, the Akula II boats are credited with an increased operational diving depth.

The Vepr and Gepard boats of the Akula II class employ additional quieting measures. These became the first Russian submarines that were quieter than improved Los Angeles class, latest US attack submarines of that time.

The keel of the first submarine of the class, Severodvinsk (K-329), was laid down in December 2003. Construction was delayed due to a lack of funds. The Severodvinsk was launched in June 2010 for commissioning in 2012. The submarine completed its first sea trials in October 2011.

Excerpt

In the Western press, some military experts having weighed fatty compliments, termed the Russian submarine “practically invulnerable”.

Both Pentagon and western media say, “By taking on K-329 Severodvinsk’s board Russia took the lead in submarine technology,” “the end of the Test Suitable Diving Submarine”, “K-329 Severodvinsk means that Russia has gone far ahead in submarine technology,” “Performances of the new submarine is such that it almost is impossible to detect in the oceans, making K-329 Severodvinsk virtually invulnerable in the face of the latest anti-weapons systems etc. ”

And one of the employees of Naval Intelligence was even more explicit: “The first appearance of the new Russian submarine aroused concern in the U.S. because we do not know even half of what’s on board of K-329 Severodvinsk “.

But one thing is already known. That is that Russian submarine K-329 Severodvinsk has reduced the level of the acoustic field which will be difficult to detect. The project also has a special feature – a mixed system design when light body “covers” only a part of the pressure hull in the bow of the submarine in order to reduce noise.

The second submarine, Kazan, was laid down in July 2009. It is expected to be launched during 2013-14 for commissioning before 2015. The Graney Class will replace the Akula Class and Oscar Class submarines.

The submarines can be deployed in anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, surveillance operations and special missions.

In November 2011, the Russian Government signed a contract with Sevmash shipyard for the construction of five Yasen Class submarines.

Excerpt

“The Kazan is capable of carrying out any task: fighting aircraft carriers, hunting down enemy submarines or conducting massive missile strikes on land targets,” said Ivan Konovalov, director of the military policy and economy department at the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies.

Image: hisutton.com

The Husky will be armed with Hyper-sonic anti-ship missile “Zircon”

Yasen / Graney design and features

The submarine’s hull is built with low magnetic steel to reduce its magnetic signature. The submarine is smaller than the Akula Class vessels but possesses more fire power. It is the first Russian submarine to be fitted with spherical sonar known as Irtysh-Amfora.

The torpedo tubes have been slanted due to the large size of the spherical sonar. The design houses torpedo-launching systems behind the central station compartment.

The submarine can accommodate 50 crew members. In comparison, the US Navy Virginia Class attack submarine has 134 crew members. The vessel has an overall length of 111m, a beam of 12m and a draft of 8.4m.

Structure PL – polutorakorpusnaya – boat has a mixed architectural structural type with monohull design on the housing part length. Lightweight body is present in the bow of the boat and superstructure of the fence cutting. Rugged divided into 10 compartments and made from vysokoproch hydrochloric magnetic steel, probably with a yield of up to 100 kgf / mm (thickness 48 mm, processing presses FUJICAR). Assembling the housing block is performed by using ametal rope damper instead of conventional pneumatic rubber-cord . The equipment is mounted on a zonal Blocks massive frames. The new layout methodECUs and auxiliary equipment, cooling systems and reduce the noise power allowed by 10-15 dB. Used vibration-laminated beams, stanchions, conduits and duct elements, other designs, reducing vibration noise by 10-30 dB. The equipment is mounted on a vibration-absorbing honeycomb body made of composite materials. Each structural unit is covered with sound-insulating panels. The housing is covered with a rubber protivogidroakusticheskim PLA coating. The boat used active damping system (SAG) to limit the noise of discrete frequency components of 50-500 Hz.

Yasen testing her escape pod

Excerpt

The newest Russian submarines of Project 995 of the type “Borey-A” and 885 “Yasen-M” will turn into “black holes” for submarines, anti-submarine ships and enemy aircraft. They will become virtually indistinguishable for hydroacoustic stations – the main means of detecting submarines. These unique capabilities of the submarine were obtained thanks to the latest silent, hermetic pumps of domestic production. Previously, all Soviet and Russian boats were equipped with the products of the Moldavian scientific and technical center “Hydrotechnika”.

Submarine’s missiles

The submarine can launch long-range cruise missiles with nuclear warheads against submarines, surface warships and land-based targets. The submarine has eight vertical launching system tubes for cruise missiles.

The class is armed with 3M51 Alfa submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM), P-800 Oniks or the SS-N-21 Granat / Sampson SLCM. The 3M51 Alfa engages targets within the range of 300 to 800km and can carry a nuclear warhead.

Yasen-M has 10 VLS silos and 8 torpedo tubes

Kazan is the second boat of the project, separated from the first by 16 years (1993-2009). Differences in the design and equipment have appeared sufficient to consider her as a new updated version compared to Severodvinsk. The Yasen-M ship reportedly has two more VLS silos (10, compared to 8 on Severodvinsk), 2 fewer torpedo tubes (8, compared to 10 on Severodvinsk) and a pump-jet propulsion system. Source strategic-culture.org

The P-800 Oniks is a long-range supersonic anti-ship missile fired against surface ships and submarines. The missile uses low-low and high-low flight patterns for targets within 120km to 300km.

It has a length of 8.9m and a diameter of 700mm. The maximum speed of the missile is Mach 3.

SS-N-26 (3M55/P-800 Oniks) Anti-Ship Missile

SS-N-26/3M55 Oniks/P-800 Yakhont/P-800 Bolid – supersonic

3M55 Oniks/P-800 Yakhont/P-800 Bolid The supersonic P-800 Yakhont (Gem) is a ramjet version of P-80 Zubr [SS-N-7 Starbright]. The ship, submarine and coastal-launched Yakhont is launched from the unified ampoule-shaped transport-launching container (TLC). The container is 9 m long, is 0.71 m in diameter. The firing range reaches 300 km (162 nmi.) when flying along a combined trajectory and 120 kg (265 lb.) when following only a low-altitude trajectory. Flight speed varying over the range from M=2.0 to M=2.5 is provided by the kerosene-fueled multi-mode liquid-fuel ramjet. The P-800 Bolid is the encapsulated, submarine launched version of Yakhont. An air-launched version of the missile with the take-off weight of 2,500 kg (5,507 lb.) is also being developed. The closest American counterparts, the Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles, are subsonic; the best French antiship missile, the Exocet, has a range of only 45 miles. Source fas.org

Image: bastion-opk.ru

Note: Other sources state that the Russian domestic version has a range of 600Km

Advanced 3M-54E Club Anti-Ship Missile

Advanced 3M-54E Club Anti-Ship Missile – Supersonic

The Klub/Club is a family of modular, two-stage, multi-purpose missiles intended to engage ships, submarines and targets onshore. The Klub missiles can be launched from surface ships and submarines employing canisters, torpedo tubes and VLS. The missile can follow a ballistic or a low and medium altitude cruise trajectory pattern depending on the Klub missile version. They have been designed to destroy targets protected by sophisticated active air defenses and countermeasures. The Club-N designation applies to missile variants employed by surface vessels which launch this kind of weapon through Vertical Launch System (VLS). The Club-N missiles are provided within Transport-Launch Containers (TLCs).

The VA-111 Shkval torpedo is 8.2m long and has a diameter of 533mm. It weighs 2,700kg and is capable of carrying a 210kg warhead.

The torpedo has a speed of 200kts and can hit targets from 7,000m to 13,000m. A total of 24 torpedoes, missiles or mines are carried by the tubes.

650 mm and 533 mm torpedoes

The 650 mm and 533 mm torpedo tubes can be used for launching mines and anti-submarine missiles such as SS-N-16 Stallion, which can be armed with either an anti-submarine torpedo or a nuclear depth charge. The boat can carry as many as 30 torpedoes. Kazan will carry brand new Futlyar 533mm torpedo supplied with an improved homing system with an extended underwater target lock-on range. The torpedo’s range is 50 km, speed: over 50 knots and maximum launch depth: 400 m.

The Yasen-M is likely to be armed with the high speed underwater Shkval torpedo, which has a radius of seven to thirteen km and a speed of up to 200 knots. The SSGN is equipped with active anti-torpedo defenses and has some sort of anti-air capability – the 9K38 Igla surface-to-air missile system. Source strategic-culture.org

Comments by Navy Recognition:The new torpedo is being tested at Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. The Futlyar torpedo will be of heat-seeking design like the baseline model, but it will retain the ability to be controlled from the submarine. The Futlyar also will be given an improved homing system with an extended underwater target lock-on range.

The new torpedo will equip the Project 955A Borei-A (NATO reporting name: Dolgorukiy-class), Project 885 Yasen-class (Severodvinsk-class) and Project 885M Yasen-M in the first place. With the beginning of the Futlyar’s full-rate production, the production of the Fizik torpedo will be discontinued. The Futlyar has been developed by the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Marine Hardware and the Dagdizel plant will handle its production.

VA-111 Shkval rocket torpedo (Carrier killer)

The Shkval (“squall”) is a high-speed supercavitating rocket-propelled torpedo designed to be a rapid-reaction defense against U.S. submarines undetected by sonar. It can also be used as a countermeasure to an incoming torpedo, forcing the hostile projectile to abruptly change course and possibly break its guidance wires.

The torpedo has a nearly flat, conical disk at its nose that creates the gas cavity for supercavitation. The disk tilts to help guide the weapon and keep it stable. The cavity is supported by rockets venting just abaft the cavitator.

Four popout cylinders toward the aft end of the nose section keep the body of the torpedo stable and out of contact with the walls of the bubble in which it rides. At the rear of the torpedo are deflected control surfaces. Eight small rockets surround the main sustainer rocket. The main engine cuts in when the weapon has achieved supercavitation speed.

Guidance fins

Eight small rockets surround the main sustainer rocket. The main engine cuts in when the weapon has achieved supercavitation speed.

Eight small rockets surround the main sustainer rocket

The solid-rocket propelled torpedo achieves a high velocity of 230 mph (386 kmh) by producing an envelope of supercavitating bubbles from its nose and skin, which coat the entire weapon surface in a thin layer of gas. This causes the metal skin of the weapon to avoid contact with the water, significantly reducing drag and friction.

The Shkval is fired from the standard 533-mm torpedo tube at a depth of up to 328 ft (100 m). The torpedo exits the tube at 50 knots (93 kmh) and then ignites the rocket motor, propelling the weapon to speeds four to five times faster than other conventional torpedoes. The weapon reportedly has an 80 percent kill probability at a range of 7,655 yd (7,000 m).

The torpedo is guided by an autopilot rather than by a homing head as on most torpedoes. The initial version was unguided. However, the Russians have indicated there is a homing version that starts at the higher speed and then slows and enters a search mode.

SAET-60M

The SAET-60 is a passive acoustic homing torpedo that is launched by submarines. It was introduced somewhere between 1961 and 1966. The improved SAET-60M was introduced in 1969. It adds a second speed setting with a longer range and has a lighter warhead. Alternatively the SAET-60M is known as SAET-M. A nuclear version of the SAET-60 also exists, although designation is unknown.

SAET-60M

Type

Anti-ship torpedo

Platform

Submarines

Diameter

533 mm

Length

7.80 m

Weight

1.855 kg

Warhead

300 kg explosive charge

Guidance

Passive acoustic homing

Propulsion

Twin propeller wakeless propulsion

Power supply

Silver zinc battery, 46 cells

Speed

42 kt

Range

13 km at 42 kt 15 km at 35 kt

Depth

Up to 400 m launch depth

SAET-60 nuclear version

Type

Nuclear torpedo

Platform

Submarines

Diameter

533 mm

Length

7.70 m

Weight

2.000 kg

Warhead

Nuclear warhead, 20 kT

Guidance

Non-homing

Propulsion

Twin propeller wakeless propulsion

ower supply

Silver zinc battery, 46 cells

Speed

35 kt

Range

10 km at 35 kt 20 km at 20 kt

Depth

Up to 305 m launch depth

Source weaponsystems.net

RPK-7/SS-N-16 Veter / Stallion anti-submarine rocket

Construction of the complex started DB-9 (ICD “Innovator”) of the Decree of the USSR in December 1969, chief designer – L.V.Lyulev. Resolution of the USSR №302-116 “On the development work on the creation of underwater weapons” on May 4, 1976 specified the terms of the completion of the complex and taking it into service. . For complex tests of the submarine, etc. 633 refurbished pr.633RV towing the submarine S-49 (1973) and C-11 (1982) – refitted boats by type, etc.. 613RV . On the towing submarines pr.633RV held factory, aircraft design and state tests missiles. The complex is put into service in 1981. The complex “waterfall” is applied from the torpedo tubes of submarines, the modification of the complex RPK-6M “Waterfall-NK” is applied from the torpedo – launchers for surface ships. Translated by google– Source militaryrussia.ru

Submarine sensor technology

The submarine is equipped with Irtysh / Amfora integrated sonar suite. The system consists of a MGK-500 Shark Gill low-frequency passive / active search and attack spherical bow array, a Mouse Roar very low-frequency flank array and a Skat 3 towed array. The suite was developed by the Morphyspribor Central Research Institute. *Note other sources indicate MGK-600

Propulsion of the Russian submarines

The submarine is powered with a KPM type pressurised water reactor, steam turbine, a shaft and a propeller. The reactor is rated at 200MW. The propulsion system provides a maximum submerged speed of 35kt and a surface speed of 20kt.

– NPS new type – the integrated monobloc-registration in one reactor unit and polyurethane. Reactor – pressurized water from the primary coolant conduits placed in the reactor vessel. Steam generating unit (PPU) KPM capacity up to 200 MW. Starting with boats pr.885M planned to use the all-new one-piece design of the power plant.